Home/Health District, RTAB launch new website May is National Trauma Awareness Month

Health District, RTAB launch new website May is National Trauma Awareness Month

Health District, RTAB launch new website

May is National Trauma Awareness Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

11 May, 2015

LAS VEGAS – The Southern Nevada Health District and the Regional Trauma Advisory Board (RTAB) launched a new website for the Southern Nevada Trauma System to coincide with National Trauma Awareness Month. In addition to the website, www.SouthernNevadaTraumaSystem.org, its companion Twitter site, @SNVTraumaSystem is also now available.

A trauma system is a coordinated network of care and resources to ensure the best outcome for patients suffering from catastrophic injuries. Website visitors can view personal stories about Southern Nevada trauma system survivors as well as get detailed information about the system and its components.

In the past four years, the three trauma centers in the Southern Nevada Trauma System have cared for more than 6,000 trauma patients each year. In the United States, intentional and unintentional injuries are the leading causes of death and disability for people between the ages of one and 44, which may lead to a patient’s initial encounter with an emergency medical services and trauma system.

The Southern Nevada Trauma System consists of University Medical Center, a Level I and Pediatric Level II trauma center; Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center, a Level II trauma center; and St. Rose Dominican Hospital – Siena Campus, a Level III trauma center. Trauma centers are classified based on criteria developed by the American College of Surgeons – Committee on Trauma. The rankings are not based on the quality of medical care but on resources available to provide optimal care for injured patients.

“No matter which trauma center you’re brought to here in Southern Nevada, it is important to know that you will receive excellent lifesaving care. Each trauma center can provide high quality emergency medical care. Which center you are transported to is based on your injuries and what medical resources you would need to treat the injury,” said Christian Young, M.D., EMS & Trauma System medical director.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 43 million emergency department visits for injuries in 2011 (figure includes visits for adverse effects of medical treatment).

“Our slogan is ‘Serious Injuries. Superior Care. Trauma Systems Matter.’ because this statement sums up what the Southern Nevada Trauma System does,” said Dr. Joe Iser, chief health officer for the Southern Nevada Health District. “Most people don’t know that the system is a well-coordinated, comprehensive injury response network of essential services. Patients are treated at the scene of an injury and transported to a health care facility that can best treat them to ensure a good outcome.”

“Many people think the trauma system is only about the ambulance transport to a hospital, and this is the core element. What people don’t know is that the trauma system also works to reduce or prevent injuries and advocates for resources to meet the needs of injured people,” said Erin Breen, chair of the Trauma System Advocacy Committee.

The four components of a comprehensive trauma system include (1) the development of injury prevention programs, (2) transport and treatment protocols to ensure a patient is brought to the appropriate trauma center, (3) ensuring hospitals maintain appropriate trauma capabilities, and (4) rehabilitation services to maximize optimum recovery and reintegration into the community.

To do that, a statewide trauma registry is an essential tool to collect and analyze injury data that can help guide efforts to develop appropriate prevention programs, or legislative or regulatory efforts to reduce injuries. Further, it is important to have a dedicated and sustainable funding source to support the trauma registry and to maintain the necessary infrastructure to help drive decisions regarding trauma system development, operation, management, and enhancement